Pliers



Dec- 9, 1952 w. sARvlE l PLIERs Filed oct. 21, 1947 s sheets-sheet 1F/`g./. Fl'g. 2.

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" PLIERS Filed Oct. 2l, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor Walter Sary/'ewww me):

Dec. 9, 1952 w sARvlE 2,620,697

PLIERS Filed Oct. 21, 1947 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor Walter Sary/e B,@Mm w/W M5165 Patented Dec. 9, 1952 UNITED STATES'PATENT OFFICE Y PLIEBSWalter Sarvie, Alexandria, Minn.

Application (ictober 21, 1947, Serial No. 781,139

4 Claims. (Cl. 81-49) lThis invention relates to manually operable toolssuch as pliers, tongs, tweezers and the like.

Important objects of the present inventionare: to provide an attachmentin connection with a pair of slip joint pliers wherein the handles maybe movable toward or away from each other in a normal manner b-ut whenresistance is encountered by thejaws, a multiplication of leverage willbe obtained to produce a vfirmer grip by the jaws on the object, withoutadjustment, within the range of the tool; to provide an -attachment forautomatically locking the jaws in engagement with the article in anyadjusted position of the handles and to retain the jaws in lockedposition after the pressure of the hand has been released; to provide anattachment for releasing the locking means readily by merely moving thehandles away from each other in a normal manner to open the locked jaws;to provide a pliers type wrench construction incorporatingY means for amultiplication of leverage or self-locking, or a combined multiplicationof leverage and selflocking, or the pliers can be operated in a normalmanner with the said means inoperative; and, finally, to provide awrench of this character which is relatively inexpensive and practicableto manufacture, simple and convenient to use, and which will givegenerally ecient and durable service.

- With these and other objects denitely in view, this invention residesin certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangementof partsV and portions which will be hereinafter described in thespecification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the invention as applied to a pair ofslip joint pliers in one position, one jaw being shown in a secondposition in dash lines, a portion of the other handle being broken awayand the underlying portions being shown in horizontal section and inplan;

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view on line 2 2 of Figure 1; Y

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1, an en portion of said otherhandle being broken away to show underlying mechanism in anotherposition and in plan;

Figurese, 5 and 6 represent clutch plates and the pivot pin or cam shaftof the clutch mechanism removed from the pliers;

i Figure '7 is a top plan view of a modied form of the invention,similar to Figurel;

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view on line 8--8 of Figure. 7;

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of the clutchmechanism in one position, the mechanism being shown in another positionby dash lines;

Figures 10 and 1l are enlarged sectional views of a portion of amodified form of clutch mechanism;

Figure 12 is a sectional View of another form of this invention appliedto a cutting pliers of a simple pivot, non-self-locking type, a handlelever in a second position being indicated by dash lines;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary plan view of this invention applied to slipjoint pliers of the selflocking type; and

Figure 14 is a view of this invention similar to Figure 13 but with theclutch mechanism on end portions of the handles.

Similar characters of reference relate to similar parts throughout thedrawings.

Referring to the drawing, one form of this invention is shown in Figures1, 2 and 3 as applied to a pair of slip joint pliers havingwork-engaging jaws 2i! and 2l which are operatedby -crossed handles 22and 23 pivoted together by the pivot pin 24. One of the handles 22 isprovided with an arcuate shank 25 extending operatively through aperture2t in the other handle 23, the shank 25 being preferably rectangular incross section. The handle 23 is also preferably materially thickened asat 2l between pivot 24 and the aperture 26 with a recess 28 formedwithin said thickened portion 2l opening :at 29 toward aperture 2tto'receive therein end portions 30 and 30 of the clutch plates 3i and 32which abut adja- `cent a fulcrum portion 33 of the cam shaft 34.

Enclosed transversely within said recess 28 is the squared end portion35 of said shaft Sii and this squared end portion extends throughapertures 36 in the side walls of said thickened portion 2l and projectsoutwardly to be received in matching squared apertures 3l on the endportions 38 of lever 3B, which lever is suitably secured as by screws leto the cam shaft 34, so that said shaft may be operated in conjunctionwith the said lever 39. The lever 33 partially encircles the end portionof handle 23 to allow the lever to rock relative to the handle 23. Thesaid shaft 34 in apertures 36 is equally spaced from the plurality ofpivot holes in handle- 23, as shown by arc line i2, the rectangularcross sectional shape of the shank 25 aids in maintaining the clutchplates 3! and 32 in operative registration with shank 25 and with theclutch plate 3l abutting the cam shaft 34, in the various adjustedpositions of an adjustable or slip joint tool, as shown by lines Theclutch mechanism consists of one or more clutch plates, each additionalplate providing two .additional gripping edges, but a pair of plateswill usually afford all the holding action necessary. In the form ofthis invention illustrated in Figures l, 2 and 3, two plates 3l and 32are used. The plate 32 is tapered in thickness with the thinner portionof the plate toward the pivot pin 2d and the inclined planes of thetapered plate meeting at said pivot 2li, this construction enacting withthe curved shank 25 to permit equalized gripping action by additionalplates when such additional plates are used. In other words,the'inclined surfaces of the plate 32 are always disposed. transverselyof the shank 25. rhe plate 3l need not be tapered and is reinforcedagainst bending with suitable turned up half round side portions liladjacent the aperture 45 of said plate. Each plate embraces shank 25somewhat loosely, and a compression spring d5 freely encircles the shank25 and is interposed between the plates and handle 23, which handle hasan annular inturned ange at the outer end of said aperture to retain thespring in position.

The thrust of the spring 45 holds the plates against the fulcrum portion33 on the cam shaft 34 and causes the clutch plates to grip the shank 25and to hold and to lock said shank from sliding outward or away fromaperture 25 in handle 23, thereby locking the handles with the jaws inan article-gripping position. The outer end portion il of lever 3Qserves as a handle or hand grip opposite the handle 22, and when forceis applied inward on said hand grip, the spring 48 will be of sufficientstrength so that at iirst the lever 39 and handle 23 will move as asingle unit. However, as resistance is encountered upon the jaws comingin Contact with the work spring d8 will then commence to yield and thelever 39 will move relative to the handle 23 pivoting on shaft 34, thusturning the shaft 3d clockwise to apply force to the clutch plates atthe fulcrum portion 33 of said shaft 5d and likewise at the same instantto cause the clutch plates to grip shank 25 and thus to force theabutting clutch plates with shank 25 toward handle 23. The force appliedat the jaws will be multiplied by the ratio of the distance from thepoint of application of pressure on the handle portion of lever 39 tothe center of pivot shaft 3d and from the center of said shaft 311i tothe outermost portion or fulcrum portion 33 which abuts the part 5d ofthe clutch plate 3 i The compression spring i8 is interposed pivotallybetween the outer end d@ of handle 23 and the part 55 of bolt 5l carriedby the lever 39, and this spring operates with a snap toggle action whenlever 39 is manually swung from one position to the other as the part 59passes dead center either way to hold said lever in suitable lockedpositions. 52 allows the adjustment to either a combined self-lockingand multiplication of leverage type or a multiplication of leverage typepliers by releasing the nut on said bolt 5i and sliding it to thepreferred adjustment in said slot, thereafter securing the bolt in theslot by tightening the said nut. Another form of the adjustmentmechanism is shown in Figure 3 and is adjustable in substantially thesame manner as is represented in Figures l and 2. fis shown in Figure 3,the compression spring l is interposed pivotally between the outer endof the handle 23 and a suitable pin 53 transversely and operativelyconnected, through slot apertures 5d, on the sides adjacent The bolt 5lwhich is movable in slotV the end of lever 39. The pin 55 is operativein the slot apertures 5l in the lever 35 by pressure applied to the head55 of the pin 55 against the thrust of a compression spring 56encircling the pin 55 between said head and the side of the lever 39until detent 55 in pin 55 matches the smaller portion in the slot 55 andallowing sliding adjustment of the pin. This construction allowsadjustment to release the locked clutch plates with the lever 39 whensaid lever is drawn away or outward from the handle 22, the pin 55moving to abut against the clutch plate 3l, and as the compressionspring 48 is stronger than the spring 45, the said pin 55 willautomatically tilt or cant the plates after said lever swings past deadcenter and will hold said plates back or away from the grippingposition, thus releasing the locking mechanism and holding said platesin non-gripping position until suitable pressure is applied manually onlevel 55, to move the lever toward handle 22. This means is alsoadjustable to hold the clutch plates in an unlocked position at alltimes while lever 35 is swung in the furtherest position toward handle22 past the dead center,

vas shown in Figure 1, allowing the pliers to be operative in a normalmanner, said pin 55 holding the clutch plates from shifting relative tothe handle 23 while shank 25 is withdrawn out of the clutch plates, asduring adjustment of a slip joint plier. A secondary releasing means isalso provided by suitable extension of said end portion of the clutchplate 3l, permitting the application of manual pressure thereon.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure 7, the clutch mechanism ismounted on the outermost ends of the pliers handles B and 5l with oneend of the lever 62 pivoted with and suitably secured to cam shaft 63Voperative in the transverse apertures Gli of the outer end 65 of handle5 i The center of the pivot cam shaft 63 is equally spaced from theplurality of pivot holes 56 in the handle lil, as shown by the arc line61, to maintain a single clutch plate Si in alignment with shank 68which comprises a turned end of the handle 55, and in abutment on shaft63 in the various a-djustments of this slip joint plier. The part E59 oflever 52 partially encircles the portion of the handle 5I approximatelyat the middle thereof and said middle part carries, as shown in Figure8, a spring 'Eil retained in a bore 'Il biasing two balls 'i2 inopposite directions in said bore into frictional engagement with theinside walls of the said lever part 65, the two holes 'E3 being slightlysmaller in diameter than the balls l2, to hold the lever 52 fromswinging movement until pressure is applied to said lever 62 to adjustsaid lever from one adjustment to the other and to turn the shaft 63, asshown in Figure 9, from one position to the other. The solid lines inFigure 9 show the mechanism in a looked position and the dotted linesindicate the other position after further pressure has been applied onthe handle 65 and on the lever 62 on handle 5l, the said lever havingturned the cam shaft 53 counter-clockwise and forced the abutting clutchplate away from said cam shaft and toward the compression spring Til.The gripped shank 58 has also been pushed further into the aperture 'i6in the handle 5l and the handles have been subjected to a flexing andthe bite upon a gripped object by the jaws will be still furtherincreased. When the thickness of the clutch plate must, for purposes ofstrength, be made relatively great as when great loads are to besupported, the slope of the contact line .TI must not beso steep thatthe Vclutch plate will not grip at all. In order to keep the contactline l1 at a small angle for maximum gripping in the locked position andmore friction-free movement of the plate on the shank in the releasedposition for all thicknesses and strengths of clutch plate, there may beemployed one of the modifications shown in Figures and 11. In the formshown in Figure 10, the sides 13 of the aperture in the clutch platetaper from one end to the other. Therefore, the line of contact 11 lieson one face of the clutch plate and is very nearly normal to shank 25.In the modification shown in Figure 11, the sides 'I9 in the aperture oftheclutch plate slant similarly to allow friction-free operation of theclutch mechanism in the non-locking position and the clutch platereleases easily when it is tilted back against the spring l, while'still providing for better grip in the gripping position.

The form shown in Figure 12 is similar to that of Figures 1, 2 and 3except that the invention is here applied to cutting pliers with asimple pivot 'I9 and less multiplication of leverage, as the distancebetween the centerof the pivot 8) and a pin 8| carried by the lever 8Sagainst the clutch plate 81 is greater than in the other forms. Thepliers can be operated in the usual manner with the clutch plate free ina non-gripping position, as indicated by the solid lines, and the dottedlines 82 indicate the position of the parts when pressure has beenapplied. In Figures 13 and 14 there is shown a simpler form similar toFigure 1 and Figure 7, but in the self-locking type only. The arc line83 in Figure 13 shows the concentric position of the fulcrum point ofthe clutch plate B8 in a loop part 8d and with relation to a pluralityof pivot holes in a slip joint pliers. There is here illustrated asuitable extending lever portion 85 on the clutch plate 88 by which theclutch may readily be released from a locking position and a loopedguard 89 for the lever 85 is carried by the handle Si). Figure 14illustrates how structure similar to that shown in Figure 13 may beapplied to the ends of the handles. The shank Si in Figure 13 isincorporated, as at S2, with the handle 93, while the clutch plate Silis carried by the handle 95 in a manner similar to that described inconnection with Figure 7.

My invention is not limited to the exact forms of shank and clutchplates shown and described nor to the shapes and proportions thereofillustrated, since these will vary with the work to be performed, thekind of material employed in the shank and clutch plates, and thediameter of the shank.

The operation of this invention will be clearly understood from aconsideration of the above description of the mechanical detailsthereof, although the operation diiers somewhat in the different formsillustrated. Closing of the handles so that the jaws 2) and 2i grip awork piece is followed by pivotal movement of the lever 39 from theposition shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 1 in fulllines. This lever movement rotates the cam shaft 311i shifting theclutch plates so as to carry the shank 25 gripped thereby as to theright in the Figures 1, 2 and 5. The spring 48 has a snap action to lockthe lever in this position. When it is desired to release the grip ofthe pliers, the lever is snapped back into the position shown in Figure3 and the pin 55 shifts the clutch plates into a position allowing theclutch plates to slide freely on the shank 25.

In the construction shown in Figure '7, the lever 62 pivots about camshaft 63, the handles 6! and 6l are locked by the action of the springbiased clutch plate 3l', and further tightening is accomplished by thelever S2 and the pivot cam shaft 63 which is moved by the lever 6'2. Thelever 82 is releasably held by the action'of the elements numberedlil-13.

vIn the embodiment shown in 'Figure 12 the initial closing of thehandles is followed by a movement of the lever 8S about its pivotalconnection 8l! on one of the handles. This lever 8S carries the pin 8|against a latch plate 31, which is already in gripping position, causinga further closing of the handles. In this embodiment the lever BS isspring 'biased into released position and a pin, not numbered in Figure12, engages the latch plate and tilts the same out of grippingpositionwhen the lever is moved to said released position. The toolshown in Figure l2 may be considered as designed for providing augmentedgripping action but without special means for locking the handles. Thedevices shown in Figures 13 and 14, on the other hand, show means forlocking and unlocking the handles without means for augmenting thegripping action. The springs arranged coaXially of the shanks 9! and 92urge the clutch plates S8 and 94 into gripping position and the clutchplates have handle portions which facilitate the shifting of the clutchplates into released position.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A tool comprising a pair of jaws carried by a pair of crossed pivotedhandles, one handle having an aperture, an arcuate shank carried by theother handle and inserted through said aperture, a clutch plate havingan aperture receiving said shank, a spring encircling said shank andurging said clutch plate into gripping engagement on said shank, saidone handle having a lever and a shaft pivotally securing the lever onsaid one handle, said shaft having a cam which engages said clutch plateto shift the clutch plate While the clutch plate is in shank-grippingposition, whereby the clutch plate and shank and said other handle maybe forced to move towards said one handle.

2. A tool comprising a pair of jaws carried by a pair of crossed pivotedhandles, one handle having an aperture, an arcuate shank carried by theother handle and inserted through said aperture, a clutch plate havingan aperture receiving said shank, a spring encircling said shank andurging said clutch plate into gripping engagement on said shank, saidone handle carrying a shaft which engages said clutch plate While theclutch plate is in shank-gripping position, said shaft having a camface, and said one handle having a lever pivoted thereon and rigidlysecured to said shaft to control the disposition of said cam facerelative to said clutch plate and when shifted in one direction to forcesaid clutch plate, shank and said other handle toward said one handle.

3. A tool comprising a pair of jaws carried by a pair of crossed pivotedhandles, one handle having an aperture, an arcuate shank carried by theother handle and inserted through said aperture, a clutch plate havingan aperture receiving said shank, a spring encircling said shank andurging said clutch plate into gripping engagement on said shank, saidone handle having a' transverse shaft mounted thereon which engages saidclutch plate while the clutch plate is in shank-gripping position, saidshaft having a cam face and said one handle having a leverpivote'dfthereon and rigidly secured to said shaft to -1control' 4thedisposition of said cam face relative to said clutch pl'ateiandY Whenshited in one direction `to force said clutch plate, shank and saidother handle `toward said one handle, and means for selectively andreleasably securing said lever in either a position for locking or aposition for `unlocking said handles.

4. A tool Acomprising a pair of jaws carried by a pair ofV crossedpivoted handles, one handle having an aperture, an arcuate shank carriedby the other handle andinserted through said aperture, a clutch platehaving an aperture receivlngsaidshank, a spring encircling said shankand urging said plate into gripping engagement on said shank, said onehandle having a transverse shaft mounted thereon which engages saidclutch plate While the clutch plate is in shankgripping position, saidshaft having a cam face and said one handle having a lever pivotedthereon and rigidly secured to said shaft to'control the disposition ofsaid cam face relative to said clutch plate and When shifted in onedirection to force said clutch plate, shank and said other handle towardsaid onehandle, .means for Vselectively and releasab'ly securingsaidlever Vin either a position for 'locking or a position for unlockingsaid handles, and a pin carried by said lever on the side of said shankremote from :said shaft to engage' and to release said clutch platevfrom gripping Yposition on the shank when the lever is moved to areleased position.

WALTER SARVIE.

REFERENCES CEL-TED rlhe following references are of record in the illeofV this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Shipley Apr. 19, 1949

